Returning to 1949, I decided to hand it over to the state.

In June, the sun in Anshan was already quite scorching, making the roadside weeds droop and wilt.

Jiang Fan didn't walk fast; his mind was racing, replaying the rules he had just announced in the workshop.

To be honest, although he appeared calm and composed on the surface, he was actually a little nervous inside.

The management approach he described, when viewed in the future, will be seen as a mature experience tested through long-term practice, with a solid foundation among the masses and enduring vitality.

The problem is, it's 1949 now.

Can workers who have just come from the old society adapt to this so quickly?

Will those who are used to taking kickbacks as foremen or team leaders secretly sabotage things?

The most crucial thing is Director He's side.

Before even formally submitting a report for approval, they've already raised the banner of reform right here in the workshop.

If this happened in the military, it would be called "acting first and reporting later," and would likely result in punishment.

However, Jiang Fan then thought again: if he knew which path was better, but was afraid of this and that, and hesitated to look ahead, and ended up watching the factory copy an external management model, leading to decreased efficiency and dampened enthusiasm, then that would be a real loss.

He knew better than anyone that in the early days of the People's Republic of China, our country's industrial foundation was too weak. Apart from a small number of industrial workers who had inherited the skills from the old industrial base, most factories had almost no management experience.

At the time, there were indeed few readily available models to refer to. The Soviet Union's highly centralized management system was indeed able to quickly restore order and rebuild the production chain in the short term.

The problem is that the environment for Chinese factories is not entirely the same as that in the Soviet Union.

A significant portion of the Soviet industrial workforce was directly transferred from the remnants of the old serfdom system and had long been accustomed to a hierarchical command structure.

Chinese workers, especially the industrial workers of the Northeast generation, grew up in the harsh environment of a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society.

They experienced the whips of the Japanese and the chaos and fraud in the markets during the Kuomintang era.

They possess both a submissive side and an indomitable stubbornness and resilience.

They have an affection for the factory, a feel for the machines, and a passion for exploring technology.

Therefore, Jiang Fan preferred to take the risk and try it first rather than do nothing.

At least for now, I'm just starting a small pilot project in this steel rolling mill.

Even if something goes wrong, the impact will be manageable.

If the workers don't cooperate, then we'll work on their mindset slowly; if the factory manager doesn't agree, then we'll let the actual results speak for themselves.

Jiang Fan clenched his fists silently in his heart.

As long as the gas cylinders are successfully mass-produced, delivered to the front lines, and successfully established in reputation, they can then be exchanged for urgently needed supplies and equipment.

By then, you will have real, solid leverage.

Only with leverage can we negotiate with those above for more systematic technological upgrades and production line transformations.

As his thoughts became clearer, Jiang Fan's anxiety gradually subsided.

But his persistence in the seemingly unconventional project of "gas cylinder mortars" was not simply to lay the foundation for reform pilot projects.

He never revealed the deeper considerations behind this to anyone.

If you were to ask what in this world can best drive heavy industry production capacity while also earning real money and scarce resources internationally?

The answer is actually quite simple: heavy equipment and complete sets of industrial products.

It is now 1949, and the global industrial landscape is undergoing a dramatic reshaping.

Many regions have just experienced or are experiencing turmoil, creating an extremely high demand for basic industrial goods and simple equipment.

Those places don't lack hard currency or minerals; what they lack is the processing and manufacturing capacity to turn resources into money.

Ansteel, on the other hand, has the most complete steel production line in the country and the most mature welding and casting technology.

Established industrialized nations are eyeing Middle Eastern energy resources, aiming for a long-term, stable supply.

While those places in the Middle East currently have underdeveloped infrastructure, their underground resource endowments are substantial.

Jiang Fan possessed the knowledge of later generations and clearly knew that in just a few years, with the advancement of the global industrialization wave, those resources would become incredibly precious.

The first Middle East war is about to come to an end. All sides are exhausted from fighting, but they are suffering from the lack of stable and reliable equipment supply channels.

If I could use the deceptive tactic of "gas cylinders" to send out this simple, cheap, but reliable weapon, it would be much more than just earning foreign exchange.

More importantly, it can open up a physical trade channel for exchanging industrial products for resources.

Even if it's just a tiny bit, even if it's only one percent or one-thousandth of the share, in the future, it will be a strategic reserve that can benefit the entire industrial system.

Moreover, if Ansteel can use this opportunity to open up unofficial channels for international industrial trade, it will no longer be just a production base that provides steel raw materials; it will transform into a comprehensive heavy industry base with independent manufacturing capabilities and the ability to generate its own revenue.

Jiang Fan was well aware of an unwritten rule in international industrial trade.

When providing key equipment, the supplier will adjust the technical details according to the recipient's "supporting level".

For example, the configurations of avionics systems and fire control components sold to core partners can differ by an entire generation compared to those sold to ordinary customers.

The same applies to heavy equipment; the armor thickness and power tuning of the domestically used version and the export version are completely different.

But those buyers know nothing, or rather, they prefer to deceive themselves into believing that what they bought is just as powerful as the original.

What Jiang Fan wanted to do was to offer the most reliable, durable, and undemanding approach, using the simplest and most direct industrial logic to leverage the most practical resource exchange.

This was his true, hidden agenda.

Therefore, if we could first send the military version of the "gas cylinder mortar" to our own liberation battlefield to fight a battle, and let those keen-nosed foreign journalists and military attachés witness firsthand the devastating power of this thing...

Those Arab tycoons who were driven to desperation would naturally come knocking on their door, waving their checks.

At that time, all you need to do is have a "Household Gas Cylinder Instruction Manual" included with the product when it leaves the factory.

As for whether the buyer uses the iron can for cooking or fills it with explosives to bomb a bunker, what does that have to do with Ansteel?

We are a legitimate civilian enterprise and reserve the right of final interpretation.

Of course, besides these national-level strategic considerations, Jiang Fan also had a very important personal thought in mind.

He dislikes America.

As a young Chinese man who grew up in the 21st century, he witnessed firsthand the ugly face of the United States' domineering and dictatorial behavior around the world.

One minute they're attacking this, the next they're sanctioning that, they're constantly sending aircraft carriers to other countries' doorsteps to provoke them and carry out so-called freedom of navigation, they keep changing their minds on certain core issues, and they've been stirring up trouble in the Middle East for years, causing chaos all over the world.

The United States today, though powerful, is not as invincible as it would be in later generations.

If, at this historical juncture, a small seed could be planted in America's strategic backyard, even if it were merely to annoy them, Jiang Fan would feel it was worth the price of admission.

Of course, Jiang Fan had different ways of explaining this grand idea to different people.

His slogan for Director He was: support the front lines, earn foreign exchange, and revitalize industry.

For Zhou Chunsheng, the blueprint he outlined was: dual-use technology for military and civilian applications, technological innovation, and export-oriented foreign exchange earnings.

As for himself, he knew the real reason was hidden deep in his heart.

They went south to fight the reactionaries, contribute to the country's heavy industry, and in return, acquire valuable foreign exchange and oil resources, while also adding insult to injury for future hegemonic powers.

Killing four birds with one stone, why not?

Thinking of this, Jiang Fan's steps became lighter, and he even hummed a few off-key tunes with a sense of pride.

After turning that familiar street corner, my great-grandfather's familiar little courtyard came into view.

But the next second, Jiang Fan's light steps came to a halt.

The wooden gate to the courtyard was tightly locked, with two bolts inserted into iron rings and a black iron lock hanging on it.

The courtyard was empty, and the whole house was quiet and deserted.

A question suddenly arose in Jiang Fan's mind.

He strode to the gate, peered through the crack for a long time, but there was no movement. He then raised his hand, pounded on the gate, and called out:

"Uncle Jiang! Aunt Su! Are you home?"

I called out twice, but no one answered.

He raised his voice again and shouted a few more times while leaning over the wall, but the courtyard remained quiet.

Jiang Fan frowned, his doubts growing. Logically speaking, there shouldn't be a locked door these days.

Just as he was deep in thought, a surprised voice suddenly came from behind him:

"Hey! Isn't this Tiger? Haven't seen you for days. What are you standing here doing, just standing there in a daze?"

Jiang Fan turned around and recognized the person at a glance.

This was the first time he had transmigrated here, and besides Aunt Su, another neighbor, Aunt Li, was also present.

He almost gave himself away, but Aunt Li stepped in to smooth things over, which allowed him to slip through the cracks.

Upon recognizing an acquaintance, Jiang Fan quickly went to greet him. Standing by the low wall between the two courtyards, he pointed to his great-grandfather's tightly locked gate and asked:

"Aunt Li, where are my Uncle Jiang and his family? Why is the door locked from the outside in broad daylight?"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Li slapped her thigh and exclaimed "Sigh!" before saying:

"Don't you know? Your Aunt Su and her husband have gone to Shenyang."

Jiang Fan was stunned, and blurted out, "Go to Shenyang?!"

"That's right!" Aunt Li gestured enthusiastically.

"They've been gone for three whole days. That morning, I saw your Uncle Jiang and your sister carrying big bags and small packages as they walked out. I was wondering what they were doing, so I asked them, 'Where are they going?' Guess what your Uncle Jiang said?"

Aunt Li said with a smile, "Your Uncle Jiang only said one thing: Shunzi is back."

"Straight line?!"

Shunzi's back?!

Shunzi... Does that mean my grandfather Jiang Xingkui, who joined the army and fought in the war, has come back?

Jiang Fanqiang suppressed the turmoil in his heart and quickly thanked Aunt Li.

After Aunt Li left, he hurriedly found a secluded stone millstone to sit down, and stood there in a daze, his brain working at a rapid pace.

He desperately searched his childhood memories, wondering if his grandfather had ever told him anything, and when exactly he had transferred from the army to Shenyang.

But after sitting there racking his brains for a long time, he still couldn't dig out the specific time from his memory.

Since his personal memory was blurred, he could only rely on what he learned from later generations about the historical process of the Northeast Field Army to deduce the truth.

After the Liaoshen Campaign ended at the end of 1948, the entire Northeast was liberated.

Then, in January 1949, Beiping was peacefully liberated, and Fu Zuoyi's troops were reorganized.

After that, the main force of the Northeast Field Army began to move south on a large scale to participate in the final battle of the Pingjin Campaign, the Yangtze River Crossing Campaign in which a million troops crossed the Yangtze River, and the subsequent operations to liberate Central and Southwest China.

However, before the main force marched south, according to the policy of our army at that time, a group of people were specially left behind and did not go south with the army.

This group included wounded soldiers, elderly veterans, technical experts with special skills, and only children from their families.

These people were systematically transferred to local military-industrial enterprises and state-owned factories, providing the most steadfast and fresh red blood for the industrial construction that the new China was about to embark on.

My grandfather must have been one of those people back then.

He was the only son in his family, and according to policy, he could no longer follow the main force south to fight.

Therefore, the organization arranged for him to be transferred to civilian work and was directly assigned to a heavy machinery factory in Shenyang.

As the largest industrial heartland in Northeast China at the time, Shenyang took over a large number of military and heavy industrial enterprises in the early days of the People's Republic of China.

Now that Grandpa has been assigned to settle down in Shenyang, Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma, who have been worried about their son for half their lives, will naturally rush to Shenyang to reunite with their only son after receiving the news.

As Jiang Fan recalled these clear historical threads, he felt as if he had lived through another world.

If my grandfather is now alive and well in Shenyang, wouldn't I be able to meet him again when he was young?

Once the thought crossed his mind, Jiang Fan couldn't quite describe how he felt.

Of course, there was excitement, after all, it was the grandfather who had raised me from childhood, but more than that, there was a sense of displacement across time and space.

Grandpa closed his eyes forever when he was 12 years old.

In Jiang Fan's memory, he was a kind old man with faltering steps, while he himself was just an ignorant child at the time.

And now, he actually has the opportunity to see a "young grandfather" in his twenties, full of youthful energy!

What was Grandpa like back then?

Are they as spirited and energetic as I am now?

However, after the initial excitement, Jiang Fan suddenly felt a sense of loss.

Now that Grandpa is back, does that mean Great-Grandpa and the others will have to move to Shenyang to settle down permanently?

Although, historically and logically speaking, their family's move to Shenyang to reunite was a predetermined event in the gears of fate.

It's definitely much better for a family to live together peacefully than to live apart and live in fear.

However, these people were, after all, his blood relatives.

Before I could even use my knowledge, which was ahead of its time, to completely change their fate, how could we part ways so hastily?

After a moment of confusion and disappointment, Jiang Fan slowly stood up and glanced back at the wooden door.

He sighed inwardly:

"never mind……"

"If it is destined that my Chiang family can only gather and disperse like this in the torrent of history, then I will put aside my own small family and take care of the big family of the new China."

"Grandpa, Great-Grandpa, you are doing well in Shenyang. We will meet again someday."